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“An epic tale of human folly and endeavor, beautifully told and researched.”
— John le Carré, #1 New York Times bestselling author
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“Completely fascinating, authoritative, and intriguing.”
— William Boyd, Los Angeles Times Book Prize–winning author
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“An engaging journey to a mercifully vanished world.”
— Wall Street Journal
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“Best read sitting somewhere hot, sipping something
cool, is Matthew Parker’s brilliant addition to the cannon of Jamaican travel
writing and 007-ology.”
— GQ
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“An exemplary history, vigorously told.”
— Los Angeles Times
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“A tumultuous roller coaster of a book. A tale of wealth, bravery, and debauchery.”
— Economist (London)
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“Without Jamaica, it is safe to say, there would have been no Agent 007. Matthew Parker sets the record straight in Goldeneye, his superb account of Fleming’s Jamaica…Well researched, excellently written.”
— Financial Times (London)
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“Highly readable.”
— Daily Telegraph (London)
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“Fascinating…a sad story…skillfully turned.”
— Literary Review (London)
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“Parker tells the exciting story of how the
Bond novels were produced—and how strongly Jamaica influenced Fleming’s
direction in life…The depiction of Fleming’s own life of
luxury in Jamaica, meanwhile, is mesmerizing. The book is as charming as
Bond himself, leaving us a greater understanding of the world’s most
famous spy, his creator, and the house in which he was conceived.”
— Publishers Weekly
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“Fans of James Bond books and films, along with those intrigued by the man behind the spy will devour the captivating stories within these pages. Readers interested in Jamaica’s relationship with Britain and America as the country moved toward independence will also appreciate the historical, cultural, and political realities and their context within Fleming’s work.”
— Library Journal
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“A well-written look at
Fleming’s life, though the book is even better as an indictment of the
anachronistic colonialism of the 1950s and the end of the British Empire.”
— Kirkus Reviews
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“The book that James Bond obsessives have been waiting for—a beautiful,
brilliant history of Ian Fleming at home at Goldeneye, all of
sun-drenched, gin-soaked, bed-hopping colonial Jamaica outside the
window and 007 at the moment of his creation. This is the big bang of Bond books—the world-weary romance, the impossible glamour, the sex, the
travel, the legend, the longing for escape and adventure—it all starts
right here.”
— Tony Parsons, British journalist and author of The Murder Bag
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“An engrossing and supremely enjoyable biography of both Ian
and his favorite island…Create[s] a completely new picture of Ian, Bond, and
the role of Jamaica in the making of the legend.”
— John Pearson, author of The Life of Ian Fleming